Chapter Text
It was Monday morning during breakfast, when it was announced that a new job was opening up. Usually, you didn’t pay much mind to it because it was usually something involving helping cardinals with paperwork or setting up planned events. But this one caught your attention - and every other sibling of sin - because it was a repetitive one. It was announced that a new assistant is needed for the newest Papa for the 4th time already. At this point, you were beginning to wonder how one man managed get rid of multiple assistants within a span a month. You recalled to the beginning where he was announced as the newest Papa, replacing Papa Copia - who now became Frater Imperator and still salty about his promotion.
The first assistant was one of the sisters who have been here for years since Secondo’s reign. It took a week for her to manage Papa’s affairs, but only 2 days to quit, freaking out and asked to be moved somewhere else. The second one lasted 2 weeks, longer than anyone, before saying he felt creeped out by how silent Papa Perpetua V was - talking about how he always felt like he was being watched by him. The last two assistants, both women, only lasted 4 days and were prominently excused from the Ministry with no one really knowing why. You didn’t even see them come back to grab their belongings or even to say ‘goodbye to anyone’, they just left. At this point, no one wanted to take the job because they didn't want to know what would happen to them if they were alone with the newest papa.
Papa Perpetua V was a very enigmatic man because for the majority of the time, he was a man of solitude and silence. Barely speaking much to anyone and if he did, his voice was soft, never too loud and his replies were very short. Which made everyone a little confused because once he was on stage, the man lit up, singing with his whole heart, fooling around with the ghouls and instantly winning the love of the fans. You were on the same page as most people that Papa was a strange man with a very creepy aura - and it wasn’t just that metal mask, it was something he just carried about him. It was the same aura that the ghouls carried but everyone knew they weren’t human and respected them because they were close to all of the papas. Really though? Four assistants? You begin to wonder if the man was a a total diva backstage or in private, but even a diva doesn't make people leave like these other ones did.
While picking at you half eaten meal, you heard a sister next to you speak up, “Again? This is starting to get ridiculous.”
“At this point, they might as well just get rid of the job for the sake of everyone.” A brother of sin mumbled.
You looked over at them and pointed a fork at them, "You should try it. I heard it comes with some excellent perks."
The both looked at you like you just spat in their food, "Hell no! Whatever perks it offers, it's not worth our sanity! We'll respect Papa Perpetua from a very far distance!" The first one replied, folding their arms and waving the idea of working for their Papa away.
"Why not you, Sister? You've been here for awhile and weren't you the one who was complaining you needed a change?" The second sibling replied, making you pout.
They weren't wrong though. You've been here since Copia became Papa, helped with backstage work for multiple rituals and when he became Frater Imperator, you've been stuck doing menial tasks within the Ministry. You needed a change and the more you spent a thought on it, the idea of working close to the new papa peaked you interest despite the major red flags that were waving to around. I wonder how bad this job could be if it's making four different people up and leave all together, you thought. You stood up and looked at the others, "Alright, I'm taking the job." The two of them looked at you in a mix of shock and a little bit of terror in their eyes.
"Look, we were just kidding..."
You shook your head, "No, I'm serious. You're right, I've been wanting a change and here it is. Plus, if no one steps up to do the job, they'll pick someone and at this point, I don't think anyone else is going to take the job." You pulled away and grabbed your plate, excusing yourself and heading out to prepare for taking up the new job many were afraid to take.
The brother of sin shrugged, "Well, it was nice knowing her."
After making your way to the office of one of the priest who was in charge of assigning the jobs, it didn't take long for you to offer your skills up for being the new assistant. The look on that man's face was one of surprise but he was also nervous about giving it you the job. Not because you weren't qualified but because he didn't want to as he put it "throw you to the wolves" - but it didn't sway you from wanting the job; in fact, it made you want it more. After convincing him you really wanted the position, the priest told you to prepare to start in a few days to give a heads up to Papa and make arrangements. By that evening, everyone knew from the second announcement and now you had sibling thinking you were either brave or downright crazy. Perhaps you were both but you were ready to take on the challenge of working with the elusive man who did his best to keep himself from being social.
On Wednesday morning, there were two changes; one- you were being moved to a room closer to Papa Perpetua's quarters to make it easier to be on call when he needed you and two - you were given new clothes; which mainly consisted of black pants, small black heels and a nice button up top with the silver ghrucifix stitched on the front pocket. You kept your other outfit, folding it up and leaving it on bed, figuring someone will bring it to your new new room eventually. When you got dressed and looked in the mirror, you smiled brightly at how you looked, "Kind of reminds me of what the Ghouls wore for a while when Frater was performing!" With a little bit more work on your hair, you were now looking cute, professional and more comfortable for your new job, you heard someone call to you, "Sister, report to Papa's Office and don't be late!"
With one last look at your old room - all of your belongings were moved already - you turned and made your way out. On the way there, you can hear the whispers of others making bets on how long you were going to last. It made you slow down and started to think, I haven't even started this and they're already assuming I won't last? No, I'm going to keep this job...I don't know what those other siblings problems were, or even Papa's problem, but he's not going to get rid of me that easily. Whether it was determination, stubbornness or both, you weren't backing out of this and you're going to prove it to them.
It took you longer than you wanted to find where you were going because Papa's office was in a different part of the ministry you've barely been in. When you walked down the stairs, the sound of your heels clicking echoed against the old walls, making you slightly shiver. As you headed down the hall you looked around and heard a guitar play while voices spoke, making you a little curious as to what was going on. You peeked into the room and widened you eyes when you realized it was the ghouls all relaxing in a shared den, "O-Oh, sorry! I was looking for Papa's office." Your nerves made your voice crack because even though you've worked with them, the ghouls still scared you a little bit because they weren't exactly human.
The first one to speak was Aurora, who smiled and spoke up, "Oh, he's further down the hall to your left." She was studying you for a minute and smile, "Oooh, you're the new assistant, aren't you?"
You smiled sheepishly, "I am."
A scoff came from Dewdrop, "I would say 'good luck' but at this point a lot of you don't."
"Don't scare her like that." Cirrus replied, coming over to you and patting your shoulder, "Hope we can work with you soon." She smiled, but her voice sounded distant, as if she already knew you weren't going to last that long. It didn't help your already nervous mind or feelings of doubt that were growing inside you.
You thanked them and excused yourself, heading down in silence until you came to a large door with a placard that had "Office of Papa Perpetua V" that was cracked open. Fixing yourself to make sure you looked presentable, you knocked on the door but had no answer. "Papa?" You replied, slowly stepping in to find an empty room - it was just you, a large desk with paper everywhere, a bookcase that was unorganized and a small couch, but no Papa. You looked around the room, glanced at the paperwork and the semi clean area - the only thing that showed that Perpetua was around his black leather jacket laid against the couch. "Well, that's a bummer. I was really hoping to be greeted with open arms by our elusive Papa." You murmured, sounding sarcastic to ease the tension within you.
"Why should I greet one who didn't ask to come in?" A man's voice spoke up, sounding almost like a whisper but you were close enough to hear it as you flinched and looked up.
Leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed, was Perpetua himself, looking intimidating with his dead eye stare are you through the metal mask. You couldn't help but stare since this was your first time looking at him so closely. The curly black hair, the face paint that covered every inch of exposed skin besides his ears all dressed in black - the siblings who worked close to him weren't kidding when they said he looked absolutely gorgeous in person. You then remembered why you were here, pulling your gaze away to straighten up and clear your throat, "Good morning, Papa. I'll be you new assistant starting today. Anything you need done, I am here to help."
He didn't speak, only continued to stare at you for a little long before shaking his head. "No." Was all Papa said as he moved into the office to grab his jacket, slipping it back on.
"I'm sorry, but I can't just leave. The Clergy already made it official and they already moved my stuff over here."
Papa gave an absented minded glance at you and waved you away, "You're dismissed then."
Now, you were getting irritated because you didn't make your way across the Ministry - in heels no less- just to be dismissed before you can even prove you're a hard worker to this man. You folded you arms in defiance, refusing to move, "Forgive my rudeness, Sir, but I am not leaving. I was assigned this job and clearly you need the help, "you gestured to the messy paperwork, "plus you're not going to get rid of me that easily. I don't know what the other four did but I am not going to pushed around as easily." Lucifer, what is wrong with me? Why did I say it like that? You thought, internally panicking but keeping your defenses up.
Papa just gave a small scoff and turned to look at you, studying you once more. You didn't know what was creepier - that menacing looking mask or the stare down that the man gave with his cold, mismatched eyes. He moved a little too quick and was standing up close now, making you take a step back, "Fine. Let's see how long you last then." With his face leering while he gave a tiny smirk, you couldn't help feel a bit scared of this man. Papa was doing it on purpose to see you reaction and you tried not to snap back at him. You only introduced yourself once more, this time with your name and smiled, "I can't wait to get started, Sir."
The man didn't react nor did his expression change from the one he was giving you. Instead, Papa just turned on a heel and headed out with a small mumbled, "You can start organizing." The same short reply everyone came to know about him. He left, shutting the door and leaving you alone in the silence of that small office.
Now alone, you stumbled and shakily sat down on the couch, feeling your face get red while your heartbeat was pounding in your chest. "What the fuck was that?" You were not sure if that question was about your boldness or what Papa was doing - either way, you didn't lose the job on the first day! Taking in a deep breath, you stood up and walked back to the desk, beginning the organizing of the mess of paperwork sprawled over the desk. Once that was done, you took it upon yourself to organize the bookcase so the spines you visible - you caught a variety of titles, some new titles and some old; an old copy of Dracula caught your major attention. It made you curious to read it and wondered, if you get on Papa's good side, you can ask him to borrow since it's been years since you've read. It only took you an hour to get it all done, feeling proud of your work, you looked around to make sure the place looked decent.
"Not bad, Sister." You flinched at the man's voice once again, looking back at Papa who appeared at the door once more. Weird, I didn't hear the door open or even hear his footsteps... you thought, turning to face him once more. "Thank you, Sir." You watched as Perpetua walked in and looked around the room, eyeing the perfectly stacked papers and glanced at his bookcase. You swore his expression slightly change to a curious one when he saw it. The man then glanced at you once more, grabbed a piece of paper and pen, spending few minutes to write down something - at the click of the pen, he came over and handed it to you. He glanced at you once more, than headed back out, leaving the door open this time. "Huh?" You blinked and looked down at the paper and your eyes widened in surprise.
-Make the calls on the list.
-Stay out of the ghouls way unless they ask for help.
-Help yourself to the kitchen (hide any sweets from ghouls).
-Don't wonder off too much.
-For the love of Satan, Do not Break Curfew.
You read it three times to full understand that Papa has accepted you as his newest assistant, making you wonder if it was the cleaning or something else. It didn't matter! You had your new job and it looks like you weren't going to be too busy for the rest of the day. The only thing that made you question was the very last thing about curfew - the Ministry wasn't too strict about people being up past 10pm, but the cardinals disliked people roaming around the halls when it was dark. Papa seems very adamant about that last one... You lingered on it for a moment before folding the paper up and slipping it into you back pocket before making your way to do your newest task for your new boss.